Red Lace
by DelilahBlueEyes
Summary: Sarah and Jareth are celebrating Christmas with her family, and so far everything is fine. But when Sarah opens a present that Jareth didn't mean to bring, things get a bit awkward.
1. Red Lace

"Guys! Guys, wake up! It's CHRISMAS!" Toby bounced on the bed as high as he could manage without banging his head off the ceiling like he had last year. One of the large lumps on the bed moved slightly under its pillow, groaning loudly. The other sighed and a hand appeared, a hair elastic on its wrist.

"Ten more minutes, kiddo," The slightly smaller bump pleaded, but Toby was merciless. Finally the blanket was shoved aside and Toby was tackled by something that moved so fast it blurred in his vision. Toby tried to outrun him but it was useless, Jareth would always be faster. He had the boy pinned in seconds and mussed his hair before letting him go again. They were still laughing when Sarah finally sat up. Toby always thought it was so funny the difference between his sister and Jareth. Sarah practically fell out of bed and shuffled toward the bathroom while Jareth sat up and pulled his hair back into a neat, low ponytail.

He leaned toward Toby and whispered conspiratorially, "I think these early mornings are killing your sister. Maybe we should take it easy on her for the rest of the day."

When she emerged a few minutes later, hair somehow tamed, Toby was gone and Jareth was waiting with a cup of coffee. She took the mug and clutched it like it was the best thing she'd ever seen.

"You wear sleep well, my dear." To which she curled her lip in distaste before disappearing back over the rim of her cup. Jareth laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing her forehead. "Well, we should get downstairs before that little blond terror comes to get us."

Toby shook the dining room table all through breakfast with his impatience and was out of the room as soon as everyone had finished eating, having only stayed to coax them along with his anxious blue gaze. He then presided over gift opening like a miniature judge in a court, handing them out one by one and making sure the proper thanks was given for each. Sarah was amused to see that half of them were for him anyway, and many of those from Jareth. When they were all open, he had a sizable pile of toys and other goodies on the floor beside him.

"Well, I guess that's all of them. Anyone want another cup of coffee?" Robert stood and made it two steps toward the kitchen before his son's voice called after him.

"Wait! There's one more!" Toby wriggled out from behind the tree with a box wrapped in a length of green silk, roughly the size of his head. He read the tag. "It's for Sarah."

When he handed her the box there was no need to read the tag. Jareth's handwriting was obvious at a glance, but when she smiled at him she was surprised to see him looking slightly embarrassed.

He said quietly, "I didn't mean to bring that one. It was supposed to stay… at home." Sarah shrugged and gently untucked the edges of the fabric, revealing a white box etched with elegant gold lettering. Les Cent Culottes Boutique. She was about to lift the lid when Jareth's fingers around her wrist stopped her.

"You might want to be careful with…" His eyes flickered to Toby, who was looking confused and impatient. Then he watched as she raised the lid and flicked aside a layer of paper.

"Well, what is it?" Toby asked expectantly. Sarah didn't answer. For a few moments she simply stared into the box, head tilted and confusion clear in her expression. She reached down to touch whatever was in the box and withdrew her fingers as quickly as if the thing had burned her, face as red as a tomato. "Sarah?"

She jumped slightly, smashing the cover back over the box again and shoved it into Jareth's hands, who now could barely contain a grin. Karen and Richard traded a knowing glance and suppressed their laughter while Sarah floundered obviously for something to divert attention from her present.

She stammered, "It's… It's a…-."

"It's a dress." Jareth finished smoothly for her, smoothing down her unruly hair. Toby waited for him to open the box and show it to him. He figured that Karen and dad must have helped pick it out because they both seemed to know what it looked like, they were smiling so big. Instead of revealing her dress, Sarah leaped off the couch and strode to Toby's mountain of toys.

"Yes, that's it, a dress. So, Tobes, how abut we go try out your new sled? It looks fast." Seeing that he was about to protest the abrupt change of topic she tried a new attack. "I bet I could beat your record from last year."

It took Toby all of three minutes to dress in all of his outdoor clothing, including two pairs of socks and a long, striped scarf. Sarah, glad for her brother's distractible nature suited up almost as quickly as he did, except for the fact that her damn fingers wouldn't stop shaking. When she finally got the top button on her coat done up she turned to usher her brother out the door.

Toby felt like he was gonna go crazy with not knowing what was in that box. With Sarah's hands planted firmly on his back, pushing him toward the backyard, he managed one final glance over his shoulder. The box still sat in Jareth's lap, slightly smushed from Sarah's speedy escape of the situation, and the cover had fallen slightly to one side. Jareth was stroking something small and red, a faraway look on his face. Toby looked closer and finally saw what it was.

Lace. Red lace. He wondered what it was and how it could possibly make Sarah blush so much. Her face was still all red. But Sarah knew. It was a shoulder strap… And Les Cent Culotte Boutique was a lingerie shop.

* * *

Author's note:

So....Well... I don't really know where this came from... O.o Guess I just wrote it in the spirit of christmas!

Hope you like it!


	2. What Next?

So, I know this is not an actual chapter and thus I should not be posting it but my computer has a virus and thus I cannot presently continue any of the stories I've posted besides this one. I want to know, from those of you who even care, what I holiday I should post next after Red Lace? I was thinking 4th of July but if there's anything you guys want to see, let me know.

Sorry if this was misleading.


End file.
